


When We Were Young

by harryunwin



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 22:23:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10523121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harryunwin/pseuds/harryunwin
Summary: Following V-Day, Eggsy uses a new piece of Kingsman technology to save Harry's life. Though it comes straight from his mum's sci fi books, he doesn't think much of the time traveling machine until a couple years later, when he's forced to go back in time again to stop a villain from destroying the world in current day. With the help of young Harry and Merlin, Eggsy works to uncover the secrets hidden from him by both friend and foe.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've had the majority of this chapter written for like a year. I listened to the song that inspired it again (when we were young by Adele) and decided I needed to post it. Sorry for any discrepancies with canon- i.e., if I hadn't planned it like this, I'd have kept Harry's eye injury. I've been out of the loop lol. Enjoy!

“He’s stable,” Merlin breathed. He said the words before Eggsy had a chance to offer the phone or explain himself, before Roxy had finished centering her gun to be level with Eggsy’s face. His voice sounded frail for just a moment, cracking with relief. Relief that Eggsy felt himself. They allowed that moment to last another second before Roxy cleared her throat, and Merlin was stone-faced and husky again.

“Arthur was working with Valentine. He’s dead. I’ve got his phone, Valentine’s sending him a signal to get to the base.” Eggsy tried very hard to not read into the long stare Merlin had given him; he tried to ignore the feeling that Merlin was somehow including him in this special pain he felt, that Eggsy was  _ supposed _ to be included in it. He pushed the thoughts away as Merlin took the phone, brushing his fingers.

 

Eggsy stood over Valentine’s still, lifeless body. He straightened his back, feeling the urgency draining from him. But still his muscles were tense, his adrenaline high. He stared into those glassy eyes for a long moment, his mind trying to accept everything that had happened in the last hour. He could remember running through endless hallways, dodging groups of guards, unloading countless megs- but he couldn’t recall a single face among the white coats and enemy firearms. Not that it mattered much now; all the faces were gone.

It was that realization (and the memory of the countless headshots he had executed) that reminded him of the feed. Watching as Valentine unloaded a bullet into Harry’s head. A shiver ran down his back, his arms. Suddenly it was the easiest thing in the world to look away from Valentine- he had to get to Harry.

Eggsy stepped over the body and started sprinting towards the exit. He paused along the way, detouring past Gazelle’s green corpse, and retrieved the scrap of fabric that had been severed from his tie. Harry might appreciate the thought.

 

“That was fantastic, Eggsy,” Merlin repeated. He’d said as much before the young man had returned to the plane, but he seemed unable to stop praising him.

“Thanks, Merlin.” Eggsy sagged in his seat. Ordinarily he would have preened at the sentiment, smiled and blushed. But he found that he couldn’t draw up any sheepishness or boastfulness. He was tired. His heart was racing, but his limbs weren’t ready for any more running. Eggsy figured the only thing keeping him awake was the thought of Harry, barely stable in some frantic American hospital. “How long have we got?”

“I shaved off hours of cleaning up Valentine’s bunker, but we have to wait until the proper authorities arrive.” Merlin closed his screens again and swivelled in his chair. He took in Eggsy- his dented suit, his bloody face, his limp body. A fond sadness filled his eyes. Merlin stood and paced closer, extending a hand. Eggsy thought it would land on his shoulder (for a frightful moment it looked as though it was angled towards his cheek), but Merlin seemed to think better of it at the last moment and gripped the back of his chair. It seemed even more intimate as he leaned over him. “Why don’t you take a rest, Eggsy? Get a few hours of sleep, wash up. I’ll wake you when we get close.”

Eggsy almost put up an argument. He wanted to stay awake, sort through his own brain, be prepared to see Harry. But he could feel the fatigue in his muscles, the stress in his mind. Eggsy only wished that the stupid soft way Merlin was talking wasn’t there- he was supposed to talk to  _ Harry _ like that, damn it. His day was shit enough without the added pain of knowing he wasn’t part of whatever they had. That was the last idea he needed to entertain just then. “Yeah.”

Merlin nodded and retreated back to his own personal space. Eggsy forced himself out of the seat, dragging his feet past the lavatory and falling face first onto the small bed in the back.

 

Merlin woke him hours later. It was obvious that the man hadn’t rested a wink in the time that Eggsy was unconscious; he had sallow bags underneath his eyes, his clothes were replaced and too clean. Eggsy grunted as he rubbed the gunk from his eyes. His dirty suit felt terribly uncomfortable. “Yeah?”

“We’ve got an hour to go. Thought you’d like to know.” Eggsy didn’t think that meant he could take another ten. He pushed himself up on his elbow, squinting. “And that you’d like a chance to clean yourself before seeing him.”

That helped clear the fog in his head. Harry. “Thanks, Merlin.”

Merlin nodded, moving to close the door again.

 

“Eggsy,” Merlin said gravely, moments before they would exit the plane and begin their rescue mission. “I need you to listen to everything I have to say.”

Eggsy felt a burst of anxiety in his chest. He leaned forward, fists clenched. “What is it? What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s not about Harry. It’s about how we’re going to save him.”

“What do you mean?” Eggsy asked brusquely. “The hospital already has him. We ain’t gonna break him out?”

“Yes and no,” Merlin murmured. He strode to the back of the plane and opened a hidden panel, pressing buttons until a door slid open. From it he pulled a device Eggsy had never seen before. From where he was sitting, it had no visible purpose. The casing was a bluish green that shined metallically, as if Merlin had just finished buffing it moments ago. It was about the size of his little sister’s car seat, except its smooth, rounded sides curved into a sort of egg shape. “I call this Catalyst. We’ll be using it to reverse Harry’s injuries and escape without raising suspicions.”

“Reverse them?” Eggsy shook his head. “He was shot in the fuckin head, Merlin.”

“Yes. And this machine is going to let you take Harry, bring him back in time, and stop him from ever getting shot in the fucking head.”

“... Right.”

 

 

Merlin had made preparations while Eggsy slept, and it all came together surprisingly well immediately after they landed the jet. A sleek black car pulled up as they hauled Catalyst, surprisingly light for its size, down the steps. Eggsy put it in the trunk while Merlin instructed the driver, and they spent the ride to the hospital in grim silence. He knew Merlin had connections, but Eggsy was still amazed he could organize chauffeur service after a global disaster. He kept his eyes trained in his lap, refusing to look out the window at the carnage Valentine had inflicted. Hours had passed, and much of the city was in a silent state of disrepair. Blood stained the sidewalks, storefronts were smashed. But it was eerily quiet in the places that had already received emergency attention. Eggsy tried not to hear the cries of those who could not be helped, just as he tried to ignore the stains on their driver’s cheek and collar.

It got louder as they neared the hospital, and the driver had to navigate frantic traffic as countless people were desperately hoping to help their loved ones. The driver found a place to pause, and Merlin sprang out of the car without a word. Eggsy followed, nodding to a man approaching with a cart. It had a sheet draped over it, shielding the contents of the shelves. When he lifted it, Eggsy saw that there were bandages and bottles of medicine, with just enough space to hide Catalyst. Merlin lifted it from the trunk, slid it onto the cart, and took the stickers the man extended towards him. One he slapped on his chest, the other he handed to Eggsy.  _ Volunteer _ , it read.

Merlin led him into and past the crowd. Civilians parted naturally to let them through, though they all watched with wild eyes, probably wondering what the contents of the cart was worth if these men were using such urgency to get it into the hospital. Eggsy thought it was a ballsy move to count on them not robbing them for medical supplies. But then again, he couldn’t imagine wanting to be violent any more than he already had today, and he wasn’t under Valentine’s control hours ago.

The overwhelming hustle of the hospital spilled through wards, hallways, into the lobby, where every doctor and nurse was being jerked from patient to patient. Volunteers in blood-soaked clothes were easy to spot; they were panicked and hopeless, or else they had the same steely look that Merlin had. He was so intense that no one flagged him down to ask for the supplies hidden under the sheet.

That was something they taught you in training. Act like you’re meant to be there, act like you’re important, and nine times out of ten no one will fuck with you. No one was going to fuck with someone that looked like Merlin.

If they hadn’t both retreated to a mission headspace, Eggsy might have sobbed when they finally found Harry. He was stable, so the staff must have unhooked him from the machines and pushed him off into a corner to make room for the thousands of patients they had meet that day. They found him in a hallway, less busy than most of the hospital but still filled with dozens of unconscious patients.

“We need to move him,” Merlin declared. Eggsy nodded without question, stepping forward to gently unhook Harry from his drip. Merlin explained as he slid the IV out. “We don’t know who was here before him. We need to find a clear place where no one will see you.”

“Right.”

“Preferably somewhere the two of you can hide, large enough to block yourself from view. But small enough to go unnoticed.”

“Right.”

“Gentle now. Help me with his legs.” They managed to pull Harry into a sitting position. Merlin pulled a limp arm over his shoulders. “You take the other side. We need to look for a broom closet. There should be one just two doors over. With luck, no one will come back.”

“Right.”

“Eggsy?”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t start talking soon, I’m going to send you to your conception.”

Eggsy couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. “Sorry, it’s all a little much. Saving the world, Harry’s shot, time travel. I don’t think seeing my mum and dad shag will help much.”

“You’ve got this, Eggsy. You’re strong. You’ll have us.”

“Okay. Yeah.” He looked to Harry, unconscious, head lulling towards Merlin’s. “Let’s do it then.”

They limped down the hall, dragging the cart behind them. As Merlin said, the second door they came upon opened easily. It was a storage room, but somehow in all the commotion it had been forgotten. Merlin helped him carry Harry into it, telling Eggsy to drag him behind the full shelf once they'd gone back, into a hidden corner. Anyone that might have come into the room since Harry’s accident wouldn’t see them behind the stacks of cardboard boxes. They gently laid Harry down, anxiously aware of doing anything to upset his wound.

“What do I do?” Eggsy asked, rubbing his palms on his trousers. The excitement of breaking into a zero security hospital was nothing compared to what he had prepared for in training. But this was a real obstacle.

“You have to hold him so you both go back,” Merlin said, reaching into his bulging pocket to retrieve another device. It appeared to be made of the same sturdy material as Catalyst, but it was a deep blue colour. He only looked at it. Eggsy reached out to take it from him.

“No,” Merlin jerked the small device away from him. If the circumstances had been different, Eggsy might have laughed. It reminded him of Merlin being possessive over his fancy gun, or his clipboard. “This is for longer traveling. If you have this, neither of you will be affected by the change, and none of this will matter.”

“Okay,” Eggsy nodded, breathless. “Yeah. You’re right. That makes sense.”

“You’ll do great, Eggsy. It will be easy, I promise.” Merlin pressed a button on the handheld device, then did something to Catalyst so that an electronic display appeared. He looked between the two, seemingly calibrating the machine.

Eggsy sat beside Harry. He looked peaceful, at least. He must have been drugged up, or maybe it was just a standard bullet to the head coma. Eggsy could have believed he was only sleeping. He lifted Harry’s head gently and pulled him onto his lap. He wondered at the last time his bandages had been changed.

Merlin set Catalyst down near them. Standing back, he nodded. “Alright, Eggsy. All you need to do is press your hand on the print. Hold it there until you’ve traveled. Don’t let go of Harry until you’re certain it’s worked.”

“Okay,” Eggsy said softly. He looked down at Harry. Placing his hand tenderly on his cheek, he let out a long breath. “See you in a day or two, Merlin.”

Merlin smiled. “See you in a second, Eggsy.”


End file.
